Automobile.



No. 731,993- PATENTED JUNE 23 1903. G. A. BUSH. AUTOMOBILE.

APPLICATION FILED 00123, 1901.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- N0 MODEL.

No. 731,993. PATENTED JUNE 23. 1903.

' c. A. BUSH.

AUTOMOBILE. APPLICATION nun-00w. 23, 1901.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.,

74.74 %IV/A UNITED STATES Patented June 23, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. BUSH, OF COREY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN J.LOOMIS, OF NORTHEAST, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMOBILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,993, dated June 23,1903. Application filed October 23, 1901. Serial No. 79.621. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that LCHARLEs A. BUSH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Corry, in the county. of Erie, State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobiles; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to automobiles operated by steam, gas,electricity, or other power, and more particularly to that classoperated with fluid-pressure engines, the object of the invention beingto provide a construction and arrangement of engine and cooperatingparts which will permit of the manufacture of an automobile at a lowcost, a further object of the invention being to provide a constructionwhich may be embodied in mechanisms for hauling coaches and cars,operating gang-plows, harrows, and grain-drills, and to propel othermachinery.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood fromthe following description.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in whichlike numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the sevo eralviews, Figure 1 is a horizontal section taken directly beneath the bodyof an automobile and showing a construction and arrangement of mechanismembodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of anautomobile equipped in accordance with the present invention, portionsthereof being being broken away to show more clearly the mechanism. Fig.3 is a bottom plan view of the engine-frame with the shifting-levers 40for moving the reversing mechanism. Fig. tis an elevation showing aportion of the rear axle of the vehicle with the wheel-spindle andshowing also the bearing-box for one of the drive-shafts. Fig. 5 is anelevation showing one of the frames or stands in which is mounted theforward bearing-block for a drive-shaft. Fig. 6 is a view showing oneend portion of a pitman with a socketed bearingblock connected with theend thereof. Fig. 7 is a section through the socketed bearingblock andshowing a crank-pin having a ballhead engaged with the socket. Fig. 8 isa top plan view of the frame or stand shown in Fig. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a construction ofautomobile including a body 20, such as is used upon the ordinary lightwagon, and which body is provided with the front axle 21, connected bymeans of the usual king-bolt, and concentric with which is the usualfifth-wheel 22 to permit of easy turning of the axle to guide thevehicle, as hereinafter described.

The rear axle of the vehicle is shown at 23, and is what is known as adownturned axle, and if an ordinary wagon which is to be adapted as anautomobile is not provided with a downturned axle one is supplied andsecured thereto, the body being supported from the axle upon springs, asshown at 24.

In the present instance to drive the vehicle the rear wheels 25 and 26are employed and which are rotatably mounted upon the spindles 27 of therear axle, so they may turn freely and independently, and on the innerends of the hubs ofth e drive-wheels and con-. centric therewith aresecured the crown-gears 28 and 2.9,through which the wheels are drivenforwardly or backwardly.

To actuate the drive-wheels, an engine is provided, and this engine inthe construction shown includes the cylinder 30, which is disposedhorizontally within the engineframe 31, which is in the form of .acasing or housing and is secured to the under side of the vehicle-bodyby a suitable number of bolts and is braced by the fore and aft braces32 and 33, connected with the front and rear lower portions andextending slantingly and upwardly to the vehicle-body. 9o

Upon the rear axle of the vehicle are the two pivoted boxes 66, mountedto swing'in vertical planes between the vertical portions 67 of theaxles and the frame members 68, disposed parallel with these verticalmembers and having feet 69 at their lower ends bolted against the axle,while at the upper ends thereof are the laterally-extendingheads 70,which rest upon and are bolted to the upper ends of the portions 67 ofthe axle." Th'eportions 68 are further held in place by the transversebolt 71.

In the boxes 66 are disposed the driveshafts 73-and 74:, which extend atboth sides of the boxes and have the gear wheels or pin-- samedirections at all times by shifting them the drive-wheels may be rotatedeither to move the vehicle forwardly or rearwardly, as desired.

The drive-shafts are taken forwardly of the vehicle and'through thebearing-blocks 77, which are mounted pivotally between the sides a3 and44 of the frames 79 and 80, bolted to the top and bottom of theengine-frame, the sides being held from outward displacement by means ofthe transverse bolts 81 and 82. Thus as the body of the vehicle risesand falls upon its supporting springs the bearing-boxes may swing sothat there will be no binding of parts and the shafts maybe easilyrotated.

At the front ends of the shafts are fixed the crank-disks 83 and 84:,having cranks 85, which are provided with crank-pins having at theirouter ends balls 85' and with which balls are engaged the socketed headsof the pitmen 86 and 87. Each socketed head consists of two parts 88 and89, the outer edges of which are grooved to receive the metal strap 90,of U shape, and the ends of which are disposed upon and bolted to thepitman by means of the bolts 92 and 93, the parts of the head being heldin proper mutual relation by the set-screw 94, which also takes up thewear of the parts. With this construction it will be seen that eachpitman is connected with its respective crank-disk by a universal joint.

Reverting now to the piston-rods 39 and 40, it will be noted that therod 40 has a laterally-extending arm 95, and this arm has a head at itsouter end which is engaged in the socketed head 96 at the end of thepitman 87, thus giving a universal connection between the arm andpitman, so that the drive-shaft may be shifted longitudinally Withoutinterfering with the operation of the mechanism.

From the piston-rod 39 extends laterally the arm 98, which has also aball-head engaged in the socketed block at the end of the pitman 86, thetwo pitmen, as shown, being at opposite sides of the engine-cylinder.The universal connections of the pitman 86 likewise permit of shiftingof its connected driveshaft without binding of parts. From the arm 98extends at both sides the rod 99, engaged between friction-rollers 100,suitably mounted, and which prevent displacement of the piston-rod 39.

The two drive-shafts are held normally and yieldably in their forwardpositions, with their rear pinions engaged with the crowngears, by meansof the helical springs 101 and 102, which are disposed upon the shaftsand rest with their ends against the front faces of the rearbearing-boxes and the rear faces of the forward pinions, respectively,and

when the shafts are moved rearwardly it is against the tendency of thesesprings, so that when released they return to their normal positions.

To shift the drive-shafts rearwardly, the slide-bars 108 and 104: aremounted in guides upon the under side of the engine-frame and have theirrear ends turned upwardly and bifurcated, as shown at 105 and 106, toembrace the drive-shafts between the flanges 107 and 108 thereon, sothat when the slidebars are moved longitudinally the shafts are moved.To move the slide-bars, levers 109 and 110 are pivoted to the under sideof the engine-frame, the levers being in turn pivoted at their outerends to the slide-bars. Attached to the inner ends of the levers are theends of the bifurcations of the cable 111, which is taken forwardly andthen upwardly over roller 112 and thenforwardly over roller 113 to thelower end of the hand-lever 114, pivoted to the wagon-body or ironsmounted thereon, and when this hand-lever is moved in one direction thecable is drawn and the levers are actuated to shift the slide-bar'srearwardly to correspondingly move the drive-shafts, and when thehand-lever is released the drive-shafts return to their positions underthe influence of the springs, as described. The hand-lever may belocated at a convenient point of the vehicle-body.

Any suitable means may be used for act-nating the front axle to steerthe vehicle; but in the present instance a hand-wheel 115 is shownmounted at the upper end of the vertical shaft 116, journaled inhearings in the floor of the wagon-body. At the lower end of the shaftis the sprocket-wheel117, with which is engaged the chain 118, to theends of which are connected the cables 119 and 120. The cable 119 istaken rearwardly and then downwardly over the roller 121, then around asecond roller, and then forwardly and attached to the front axle. Thecable 120 is taken rearwardly and laterally to roller 122, thenlaterally and then downwardly over roller 123, then around roller 124,and then forwardly, and is attached to the front axle. Instead of usingcables entirely sections of cables and rods may be used to preventstretching. With this arrangement if the hand-wheel be rotated in onedirection the vehicle-axle will be moved to steer the vehicle in onedirection, and if the hand-wheel be moved in the opposite direction theaxle will be moved to steer the vehicle in the opposite direction.

The brake mechanism includes the crowngears 28 and 29, which areprovided with grooves in their peripheries, and in these grooves areengaged the bent bars 126 and 127, one end of each of which is connectedto the rear portion of the bottom of the engine-frame, the bars beingtaken rearwardly and then outwardly and around the crowngears, and beingconnected at their opposite ends with the levers 127, which are pivotedto the under side of the vehicle-body. A chain has its ends connected tothe inner ends of the levers, and at a central point of this chain isconnected the chain 128, which is taken rearwardly and around the roller129, then upwardly and over the roller 130, then laterally to the roller131, and then forwardly and attached to the rod 132, which is connectedat its forward end to the hand lever 133, which is pivoted in theforward portion of the vehicle-body and at the right-hand side thereof,although it will be understood that it may be otherwise located, ifdesired, and instead of the chains mentioned cables may be used. Bymanipulation of this handlever it will be seen that the levers will beoperated to draw upon the brake rods or band and engage them snugly withthe grooves of the crown-gears to exert sufiicient pressure to stop thevehicle.

The boiler for the engine (not shown) is disposed upon the rear axle ofthe vehicle and is connected with the steam-chest of the engine by meansof the supply-pipe, having a throttle-valve 135. The throttle-valve hasthe stem 136 extending laterally therefrom and provided with a crank-arm136', which is connected with the throttle-lever 137 by theconnecting-rod 138, pivoted at the side of the seat of the vehicle.

It will be understood that in practice modifications of the specificconstruction shown may be made and that any suitable materials andproportions may be used for the various parts; also, that the inventioninvolved broadly herein may be applied wherever possible.

Instead of securing the crown-gears to the hubs of the drive-wheels theymay be formed integral therewith, while the brake-rods may be of anyother specific cross-sectional shape to fit similarly-shaped grooves inthe peripheries of the crown-gears.

What is claimed is- 1. In an automobile, the combination with thedrive-wheels having crown-gears fixed thereto, of reciprocatorydrive-shafts having pinions for alternate engagement with thecrown-gears at diametrically opposite points as the shafts arereciprocated, a motor including piston-rods, and pitmen connecting thepiston-rods with their respective driveshafts and having ball-and-socketconnections therewith.

2. In an automobile, the combination with' the drive-wheels havingcrown-gears attached thereto, of reciprocatory drive-shafts each havingspaced pinions for alternate engagement with the crown-gears,respectively, at different points thereof, means for holding the shaftsyieldably at one limit of their reciprocatory movements, a levermechanism connected with the shafts for shifting them against thetendency of said yieldable means, a motor comprising piston-rods,crank-disks upon the drive-shafts, and pitmen connecting the piston-rodswith their respective crankdisks and having ball-and-socket connectionstherewith.

3. In an automobile, the combination with front and rear axles of a bodyyieldably supported therefrom, drive-wheels upon the rear axle, wheelsupon the front axle, pivoted bearing-boxes upon the rear axle, pivotedbearing-boxes carried by the body, drive-shafts mounted in theirrespective bearing-boxes and operatively connected with the drivewheels,and a motor carried by the body and operatively connected with thedrive-shafts.

4. In an automobile, the combination with driving-wheels of a motoryieldably supported thereon, gears connected to the drivewheels,longitudinal shiftable driving-shafts having pinions for alternateengagement with their respective gears, said motor comprisingpiston-rods and an attachment having universal connection with theirrespective piston-rods and drive-shafts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. BUSH. Witnesses:

SAML. G. SWEET, ALBERT L. BUSH.

